In the next few days this site will be off line for a period of time. This is because after a decade with the current hosting company, I have decided to move to another provider. This will involve disabling the forum so that new posts won't made that would be otherwise be lost in the process; transferring all the files on the server to the new server; and updating the DNS records. Other than the time where the website is unavailable and the DNS name servers get updated, there should be no noticable difference between the two.

I am making the change for two reasons. The first is practical. The current web hosting business was bought by another company in 2016, and with that purchase came a price increase and a service reduction. At one point last year there were issues with the forum and everything else that used the database server. The simplest and quickest fix for this is a simple server reboot. Even though this site is not on a shared server and I am paying for complete control over how the server is set up and how it is managed, the tech people refused to reboot the server for me.

In the past few weeks there have been numerous complaints about performance issues. I have tried to work with the tech support people at the host to resolve the issue. They have offered no ideas except to tell me that everything is working as expected. They last suggested that maybe my IP address is being blacklisted, and they offered to check it for me. A couple of days ago I sent them a list of a couple dozen IP addresses from the members that said they were having problems. I'm still awaiting a response.

So I'm thinking that maybe the problem is server resources/memory issues. That led to the second reason to change companies. I checked to see how much upgrading to a server with higher specs would cost and discovered that they have been overcharging me for the past two years. I asked about the amount I was being charged and was told it was to provide quality service, I wouldn't have understood (it's only $10 a month difference) except that they are selling the server level I have to new customers at a cheaper rate. I'm paying a penalty for being a long term customer.

Anyway, we're going from a 4 core CPU and 4 Gb or RAM to an 8 core CPU and 6 Gb of RAM. I'm hoping that the increase will help with performance issues.

As before, we have seen many like the poster above offer to help with finances. If you need more, you know that a simply request will allow you to finance any changes. We all consider this an invaluable resource.

In addition, I would hope that the new ISP will work with you to truly discover any actual bottleneck. You mention a move to an 8 core processor with 6GB of memory. You may be limited by that amount of memory more than processing power. Or you may be limited by slow disks. A full analysis will discover the real bottleneck. (I did this kind of analysis for years at Bell Labs so have many 'horror' stories. )

Although my discretionary spending is limited now that I am (mostly) retired I have sent a $25 donation as well. I hope that other members will do the same and continue to do business with the advertisers here, as Alan has built the best venue of its type online (nothing else comes close) and he deserves our financial support.

Alan, it sounds like the long term benefits of the move will completely justify any short term inconvenience.Its frustrating to have a company give you poor service and then have them overcharge you for it. Best to just reward them by voting with your feet.

I am just curious, what are the logistics of moving the database, etc. to the new hosting site? Is this something you, or someone else can do for you, entirely on-line?

I joined the first week of February in 2016. This site is the first place I go to when I start up my browser. Having noticed the interruptions recently, I'm happy to donate $50 to the cause. I thought there was a yearly cost, but couldn't find it. In any case I don't see a problem if it shows up. So many helpful people, and so much useful information available.